SEATTLE — Zach Scott scored his first career goal to give the Seattle Sounders a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at CenturyLink Field.
The pivotal moment came in the 63rd minute, when Scott scored a glancing header off a Alex Caskey corner kick.
The goal ended a scoring drought for the Sounders (3-1-1) that had stretched to 306 minutes over the course of four matches. The Sounders defense has helped mitigate any concerns, having now registered two straight shutouts and have now allowed just one non-penalty goal in their five matches.
The loss is the second straight for the Rapids (3-3) and their third in four matches. They have also been shut out in both losses.
The goal came from a particularly unlikely source. It was Scott’s first goal in 2,048 MLS minutes. No player in Sounders history had played more minutes without scoring his first goal.
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The match also marked Brian Mullan’s first match in front of the Seattle crowd since he broke Steve Zakuani’s leg with a tackle a little less than a year ago. Mullan was loudly booed when he was introduced and every time he touched the ball.
Mullan, however, nearly got the last laugh. The Rapids midfielder appeared to give Colorado the lead when he scored off a rebound from a Omar Cummings shot in the 33rd minute, but the goal was waved off as Mullan strayed offside.
The other near breakthrough moment of the first half came when Seattle's Eddie Johnson sent a through ball to Fredy Montero, who seemed to have a clear one-on-one chance on goal. But Rapids goalkeeper Matt Pickens came flying outside of the penalty area to sweep the ball away and clear the danger.
After a fairly even first half, the Sounders largely dominated the second. They outshot the Rapids 12-1 in the second half and had the vast majority of the possession in the offensive third.
OPTA Chalkboard: How Seattle secured the win
Despite emotions being high in the building, they never really seemed to be in danger of boiling over on the field until the 87th minute. That’s when Mullan picked up a yellow card for a tackle on Alonso, and Montero followed with a yellow card as the two sides exchanged shoves.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
Rank |
Player |
What We Saw |
1 |
<span style="font-size:12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/zach-scott">Zach Scott</a></span> |
The right back scored the game winning goal and his first ever career goal in MLS. His glancing header was perfectly directed and defensively he was solid throughout. |
2 |
<span style="font-size:12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/matt-pickens">Matt Pickens</a></span> |
Colorado’s keeper kept his side in with a chance, having a personal duel with Fredy Montero all game long and recording four saves. |
3 |
<span style="font-size:12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/fredy-montero">Fredy Montero</a></span> |
Still searching for his first goal of the season, but drove the team forward in second half with high energy levels and incisive passing. |
